WHAT!
by mycrazylilstrawberry
Summary: KJ Kel and Joren get a surprise of a lifetime. What's this about a prophecy? Please review and tell me what you think!
1. Default Chapter

A/N Ok I am starting a new K/J fic. I will keep updating on my other one, but this idea just popped into my head ;)  
  
WHAT??!! Chapter 1  
  
Keladry of Mindelan just got finished training with her knightmaster-Raoul of Goldenlake and Malorie's Peak. She felt nauseous. That was a bit odd considering she hadn't got sick after training in... well ever. She took off running to the privy and barely made it before throwing up. She threw up her entire lunch and breakfast before stopping.  
  
Walking out of the privy, Kel was frowning. She wasn't feeling sick anymore or anything. She bumped into Alanna of Pirate's Swoop and Olau. Kel steadied Alanna. Alanna saw her frown and asked, "Why the frown Keladry?"  
  
Kel snapped out of her daze. "It's probably nothing... well, you're a healer—this is kind of an odd question, but what is wrong when you all of a sudden start feeling nauseous..."  
  
"It sounds like the flu," Alanna replied with raised eyebrows.  
  
Kel glanced at her irritably. "I wasn't finished. I threw up, then I felt a lot better. No stomach ache or head ache or anything."  
  
Alanna frowned. 'It sounds like she's pregnant.' Out loud, she said, "Has it happened before?" Kel shook her head. "Kel, if it happens again, come straight to me ok?" Kel nodded.  
  
After talking to Kel, Alanna went to find Raoul. She found him talking to the king about the war with Scanra. She grabbed his arm and pulled him to the side. "Umm Raoul? Has Kel ever been with any one?" She emphasized been.  
  
Raoul looked at her suspiciously, not getting it. "Been with anyone? Alanna you're being kind of vague."  
  
Alanna shuffled her feet uncomfortably. "You know. Like that."  
  
Raoul narrowed his eyes, still not getting it. Alanna widened her eyes, and Raoul finally got it. "Oh Alanna! Ew! I don't make it my business to know that kind of stuff. Kel is like a little sister to me! I really doubt that she has though. Err, Alanna why do you want to know that?"  
  
Alanna coughed. "No reason Raoul." She slipped off before he could ask her anymore questions.  
  
The next day, Kel found Alanna pacing in her room. The door was open a few inches so Kel knocked quietly before entering. Alanna looked up to see Kel fidgeting nervously. Alanna wasn't really surprised to see her. "Hello Keladry. Come in and sit down."  
  
Kel obeyed. "Alanna, what is wrong with me?" she asked quietly.  
  
Alanna gave her a crooked smile, half-heartedly. "I don't exactly know, but I have an idea. I will have to do a few simple tests to see if I can prove my theory. Hopefully I am wrong."  
  
"Well if your not going to tell me your theory, will the tests hurt?"  
  
"No. I will do the tests with my Gift. Go to my bed and lay on your back." Kel did as she was told. Alanna walked over and put her hands on Kel's stomach and closed her eyes, concentrating. She looked around inside Kel and found more than one heartbeat beside Kel's. Her eyes popped open.  
  
Kel had been staring off into space wondering what was wrong when she noticed Alanna looking at her with wide eyes. She started panicking. She jumped off of the bed. "I'm going to die, aren't I?" To her relief, Alanna shook her head and let out a little laugh.  
  
"You should set down for this though. I am not too sure how you're going to like this news," Alanna said.  
  
Kel flopped down into her chair not really caring what was wrong as long as she wasn't going to die. She was calm until she heard, "Kel you're pregnant."  
  
Kel blinked at Alanna a few times before her Yamani mask slipped over her features. "Alanna," she said calmly, "I can't be pregnant."  
  
"You are Kel. You have to tell the father." Alanna was trying to see what Kel was feeling. No such luck.  
  
"Alanna there is no father. I have never been with any one... you know—intimately," Kel replied with calm Alanna had never seen before.  
  
"Kel, you don't have to lie to me. You cant be pregnant without having sex with a man," Alanna said, her patience running thin.  
  
"Exactly. I am a virgin." Kel was frowning, her Yamani mask not yet completely off, but her face was starting to show her vulnerability.  
  
"Kel I can show you the babies." Alanna didn't give Kel time to protest, putting one hand on Kel's stomach and one on a blank wall. On the wall, a picture appeared. It was of the inside of Kel's belly. Kel reached out and traced the picture of the growing babies inside of her. She quickly snatched her hand away.  
  
"H-How can I b-be pregnant. I haven't ever had sex before," Kel said. Kel tried to put her Yamani mask on, but instead she burst into tears. Alanna patted Kel's back awkwardly. "How am I supposed to know who the father is? Or how this happened? Or—wait. There's more than one baby? Oh Gods."  
  
"I can do a spell to see who the father is. We need to tell the king so he can see if there's a prophecy or something," Alanna replied carefully.  
  
Kel was appalled. "No! Don't tell the king. Don't tell anyone!"  
  
Alanna shook her head sadly. "I am sorry Keladry. I have to tell the king, because if what you say is true—about you not ever being with anyone—then there has to be a prophecy."  
  
Kel shut her eyes. "Okay. Do the spell to see who the father is. Do I have to lay back down on the bed?" At Alanna's nod, Kel laid back down on Alanna's bed. Alanna quickly muttered a spell while Kel watched her closely. When the spell was ready, Alanna put both of her hands on Kel's belly. A picture appeared. It was of a certain blonde haired, blue eyed, cocky guy.  
  
Kel's eyes widened a great deal. "Joren of Stone Mountain????!!!!"  
  
Please R&R. Should I continue? Should I stop? Please tell me! 


	2. Prophecy and so much more

Oh I kind of forgot about the disclaimer- don't own anything, Tamora Pierce does!  
  
Thanks for all of the reviews! Makes me feel so loved!  
  
Chapter 2-Prophecy and so much more  
  
Kel started hyperventilating. Alanna would have thought it was quite humorous if the situation hadn't been so dire. Alanna looked around for something that Kel could breathe into, but came up with nothing. Alanna turned back to Kel to help her with a breathing exercise she learned from Maude—the healing woman of her old fief Trebond, and chief caretaker at her home the fief Pirate's Swoop—taught her when she was pregnant with her first child Thom. It was also used for people that had problems with hyperventilation.  
  
"Breathe in-one, two, three-breathe out-one, two, three-breathe in-one, two, three-breathe out-one, two, three—"Alanna kept coaching Kel until her breathing had regulated.  
  
"You can use that breathing exercise throughout the pregnancy-with the contractions and the actual birthing of the baby," Alanna said dryly.  
  
Kel looked at her sharply. "I don't intend to keep Joren's," she spat the name out like it was a curse, "baby. I don't want anything to do with him, much less have his baby."  
  
"You may not have a choice," Alanna said under her breath, but Kel heard her loud and clear. "Why not?" an alarmed Kel demanded.  
  
Alanna heaved a big sigh. "We need to go talk to King Jonathan. Kel, when we talk to Jonathan—Raoul, Myles, George, Thayet, and Joren are going to be there."  
  
Kel glared at Alanna. "I don't want anyone to know about this! Especially not Joren! I already told you that I don't want anything to do with Joren!"  
  
"Kel. Whether you like it or not, you are going to have something to do with Joren! It can't be helped. You happen to have Joren's baby growing inside you at this very moment," Alanna said patiently though it was running thin fast.  
  
"Then get rid of it!" Kel cried.  
  
"Kel. There is a reason that you are pregnant with Joren's baby. There has got to be a prophecy. C'mon we are going to talk to the king!" Alanna grabbed Kel's hand and pulled her along. Kel, admitting defeat, trailed after Alanna.  
  
When they got to the king's chambers, Alanna straightened her clothes while Kel slipped her Yamani face on. Alanna knocked and they heard a muffled, "Come in."  
  
When Alanna and Kel walked in, they saw Sir Myles and King Jonathan sitting behind a table talking. Myles glanced at the two women and smiled. King Jonathan, however, stood seeing Alanna's furtive glances at Kel. One look at Kel told him he would learn nothing from her. He motioned for Alanna and Kel to sit. Kel sat down, but Alanna remained standing. Jon frowned at her. Alanna stood up straighter.  
  
"Your Majesty, could you please beckon George of Pirate's Swoop, Lord Raoul of Goldenlake and Malorie's Peak, My lady-Queen Thayet, and Joren of Stone Mountain," Alanna said in her most noble-like voice.  
  
This caught Myles's attention. He watched on with interest. Jonathan frowned at Alanna, but motioned for the messenger who was standing at the door to go get those people. After the messenger left, Alanna seated herself.  
  
King Jonathan remained standing with a frown still on his face. "Wasn't one of those a squire?"  
  
Alanna nodded, glancing at Kel whose face was still carefully blank. King Jonathan was beginning to be unnerved by Kel's unresponsive behavior.  
  
Myles grinned at the younger man. "Sit down Jon. You will work yourself into a fit."  
  
At this point, the messenger came in looking harassed. He bowed to the king. "All of whom you have summoned are here, but Buriram Tourakom, Veralidaine Sarrisri, and Numair Salmalin were dining with my lady Queen Thayet and Buriram insisted that she come as did the two mages." There was an impatient sigh, followed by Buri's voice, "Jon, would you please let us in?"  
  
Jonathan grinned outright at the messenger. "You might want to let them in. The women are capable of bodily harm."  
  
The messenger's eyes widened, and he scurried out of the room. Thayet came in and curtsied, then took her seat next to Jonathan's chair-he hadn't sat down yet. Everyone followed either bowing or curtsying. Finally, Joren was the last one to came in, and he bowed mockingly to the king. Jonathan frowned at him, but didn't say anything.  
  
When Jonathan sat down, Alanna stood up motioning for Kel to stand up too. Kel obeyed silently. Alanna took a deep breath and stared. "Kel has been getting sick lately." There was some concerned looks, but everyone listened to see what Alanna was going to say. "I had an idea of what was wrong with her, so I took some tests. It seems Keladry is pregnant."  
  
Everyone's heads turned to Kel, who was very embarrassed but didn't let it show. Joren—the only one not concerned—smirked. "Whose baby is it? Or do you even know?"  
  
Alanna chuckled. "I did a test for that too. The baby is yours, Joren." Joren's cocky look turned into one of disbelief.  
  
"It can't be! I have never had sex with her!" Joren cried.  
  
Alanna smirked at him. "I know." Joren breathed a sigh of relief, thinking Alanna was joking about the baby being his. "—but the baby is still yours."  
  
Joren blinked at Alanna. "Do you not know how babies are made? It takes two people, and the usually like each other—"Alanna cut him off. "Of course I know how babies are made! I have three of them!" Alanna was loosing her temper, so George got up and stood beside her, offering her silent comfort. Alanna gave him a small smile.  
  
Joren, watching their little display of affection, was getting irritated. "The baby is probably Queenscove's or that oaf-Cleon of Kennan's."  
  
Kel, who was also getting irritated, was trying not to say or do something to Joren. She managed to keep her blank facade though.  
  
Alanna, somehow sensing Kel's irritation, looked at Joren. "The reason I have called everyone here wasn't to tell every one the happy news," Alanna said sarcastically.  
  
Raoul was still in shock over learning that his squire for two years was pregnant with her worst enemy's baby. He still managed to choke out, "Why did you call us here?"  
  
"I'm getting to that!" Alanna snapped. She took a calming breath. "Kel is a virgin. She has never been with anyone unless she was unconscious when it happened." Everyone threw Joren accusatory looks. Joren made a face and shuddered. 'Kel. Naked. They must think I'm insane!'  
  
"Okay. We need to know if there's a prophecy involved. That would give us at least some answers," said Alanna carefully.  
  
All the women stood up and walked over to Kel while the men—with the exception of Joren—went to discuss any prophecies that might be helpful. The women were discussing the sex of the baby and baby clothes and Kel started feeling like she was going to throw up. Her eyes bugged out and she put a hand over her mouth.  
  
Queen Thayet—the only one noticing Kel's problem—quick as a flash, grabbed a trash bin and held it up to Kel just in time.  
  
After she got done throwing up, Kel looked up into sympathetic faces—with the exception of Joren.  
  
King Jonathan cleared his throat, taking the attention away from Kel-for which she was grateful. "We think we found the prophecy." He gestured for Myles to read out of a big book on the table.  
  
**_The Protector of the Small will bring into this world survival,  
  
Born from warriors—the Protector of the Small and the Stone Prince—survival will be  
  
Vital on the eve of the apocalypse. Survival will rise above the rest to stop or help the  
  
Enemy take over._  
**  
Everyone looked at each other then back at Myles who all of a sudden looked older. Alanna stepped forward. "Myles? What does it mean?"  
  
He looked at everyone then fixed his gaze on Kel who had turned white. "It means that the baby will either be our savior or our destructor. The best we can do is love the baby as we raise him or her. If they are loved and know—if you keep the prophecy from them it wont help—that they are loved then it might help our chances." He gave Kel an apologetic look.  
  
Kel looked down at her stomach and settled a protective hand over it. She got a determined look on her face. "I will raise this baby to the best of my ability. She-or he-will always be loved. No matter what," she muttered to herself. Joren who had come to stand next to her looked at her strangely.  
  
"What about me?" he asked quietly. "I want to help raise my—_our_ baby too!"  
  
Kel looked at him and saw that he sincerely wanted something to do with the baby. She sighed and rubbed her neck warily. "I'm tired. We can talk tomorrow or something." With that, she bowed to the king and queen and left the room.  
  
When Kel walked out, Joren noticed all of the hostile looks that were being sent his way. He started to back out, but Raoul stopped him. Raoul practically dragged him to a chair and pushed him into it. When Joren tried to get up, Alanna bound him with her Gift.  
  
The adults formed a semi-circle around him. King Jonathan regarded him with cold eyes. "I am the king. I will not bodily harm you if you hurt Kel, but I'm sure that there's people here who would."  
  
Raoul took over with Jon's speech. "If you hurt her emotionally or physically, I will hang you off the side of Balor's Needle for an hour. If you happened to slip, it wouldn't be our problem."  
  
Joren looked at the ladies, but he saw no sympathetic faces. Daine gave him a crooked smile, and he sighed with relief, thinking that he had an ally. "There are animals almost everywhere you go. You will be watched."  
  
Joren considered everything that they had said, looking at each and every one of them. Alanna, George, King Jonathan, and Numair were mages. Plus all of them could probably beat him up. Buri, Raoul, and Thayet could beat him up even though two of them were women. Daine was a Wild Mage, meaning she had friends everywhere. In fact, the only person he even had a sliver of a chance against was Myles, and Joren highly doubted that he could take a full fledged knight. He sighed in defeat. "I will not harm Kel. I promise on my family name and all of my ancestors."  
  
George grinned at the young squire. "Kid, when a woman is pregnant, almost anything you say will either make them cry or laugh. _Do not ever and I mean ever comment on their size_. Even if it's to say how beautiful they look. If you tell her she looks beautiful, she might think you prefer bigger women. If you say that it will go back to normal in 9 months, she will think you are calling her fat. Matter of a fact, it's better if you just don't talk when you are around Keladry."  
  
The guys were chuckling while the women were glaring at George. Joren had a disgusted look on his face. "Okay. I will not have that problem because 1. I would never tell the Lump that she was beautiful, 2.She wouldn't care what kind of women I prefer, and 3. It wouldn't matter if I was calling her fat, she wouldn't care."  
  
Thayet walked over and popped Joren in the back of his head, earning surprised looks from everyone except for Alanna, Buri, George, and Jon. "You do not ever and I repeat _ever _call a pregnant woman fat."  
  
Joren was getting mad. "You didn't have to hit me!"  
  
By this time, King Jonathan was very amused. "Believe me when I say this is for your own good. If you were to call her fat, she would either burst into tears or hit you with the closest thing. If you say _anything at all whatsoever_ that offends them, they will get mad and throw something at you. Even if that something happens to be a statue," Jon said, rubbing his arm where seventeen years ago—when Thayet was pregnant with their first, Roald—Thayet had broke his arm in three places hitting him with a statue of a unicorn.  
  
Thayet, realizing what Jon was thinking about, grinned at Joren. Joren, figuring out that he might need this information, stored it in his knowledge of pregnancies and children.  
  
After about ten more minutes of unwanted advise, King Jonathan let Joren go.  
  
Joren went straight to bed. He was exhausted from the long talk he had with the king and queen and their closest friends. That night, he dreamed of a baby girl who brought great joy to his life.  
  
A/N You know, that last little bit was kind of corny. I hope you like it. I will try to update often! 


	3. Talking

I am doing updates today!! Yeah!! Disclaimer on the second pg  
  
Chapter 3 Talking  
  
Kel woke to a pounding on her door. She pulled on her breeches over her loincloth and whipped her night gown off and pulled a tunic over her head. She reached the door and flung it open to reveal a very mad Cleon and a confused Neal. "What?" Kel snarled.  
  
Cleon and Neal were taken aback by Kel's greeting. Cleon recovered first. "What's this I hear about you being pregnant?" He asked angrily. Kel's mask slipped fully over her face not allowing any of her emotions to show through.  
  
"Come in. Both of you. I don't want my business to be known throughout the whole castle," Kel said calmly.  
  
Cleon and Neal walked in and Kel shut the door behind her. She turned back around to see Cleon pacing and Neal sitting at her desk.  
  
Cleon looked at her angrily. "Well? Who's the father?"  
  
Kel took a deep breath. "You might want to set down for this Cleon. You wont like it."  
  
"I'm fine thank you," Cleon said curtly.  
  
"Fine. Joren of Stone Mountain is the father," Kel said calmly. Kel watched as all the color drained from both Neal and Cleon's faces. Cleon sat down hard on Kel's bed.  
  
"You had sex with Joren? Your worse enemy? Are you trying to live up to all of the names he called you? You just had to prove to him that you would sleep with any man. Who else have you slept with? How do you even know that Joren's the father?" Cleon asked snidely.  
  
Kel showed no emotion at all even though she was shocked at Cleon's words. He actually thought she slept with Joren? "Get out of my sight Cleon of Kennan," Kel said coldly.  
  
"My pleasure," Cleon muttered, stalking out of the room.  
  
When Cleon was gone, Kel turned to Neal. "Aren't you going to say anything? Aren't you going to tell me that I'm a slut or a whore or something?" Kel demanded.  
  
Neal looked at her with a burning hatred. She was about to let her mask slip off and beg him to listen to her, when he said, "Did Stone Mountain force himself on you?" She realized that the hatred was aimed at Joren, not her.  
  
"No," she said sitting down on her bed, "I didn't sleep with him at all." She looked tired.  
  
Neal frowned in confusion. "Kel, you do know how babies are made right?" he asked slowly as if talking to a small child.  
  
Kel glared at him. "Of course! I am pregnant with Joren's baby, but I haven't had... you know, with him."  
  
Neal was thoroughly confused. "Kel, you cant be pregnant with his baby if you haven't had sex with him," he said bluntly.  
  
Kel gave him a half-hearted smile. "I guess I'm an exception. I have never even had sex," she said glumly.  
  
Neal made a face. "Kel," he whined, "That's gross. I don't want to talk to you about sex. You're like a sister to me."  
  
Kel smiled distractedly. She was thinking about Alanna's tests. Babies, she had said. Kel frowned. "Babies," she muttered. Her eyes widened. "Babies! Maybe the prophecy was wrong! I'm supposed to have more than one baby!"  
  
She got up and headed towards the door. Neal stopped her. "What prophecy?"  
  
Kel turned back around. "I'll explain it later. We need to go talk to the Lioness!" She threw open her door to come face to face with none other than the infamous Joren of Stone Mountain sporting a black eye and a bloody nose.  
  
"Like the new look, Stone Mountain. Are you trying to make some kind of fashion statement," said Neal from behind Kel.  
  
Kel turned around and gave Neal a look, silently asking him to be nice. Neal sighed and pasted a fake smile on his face. "Joren, would you like me to heal that for you? Cleon has a mean left hook, right?"  
  
Joren stared at Neal dumbly. Neal had never been nice to him before so Joren was, of course, suspicious. He also didn't know how Neal knew that it was Cleon who hit him.  
  
"How did you—"Joren started, but Neal interrupted him.  
  
"He found out about Kel being pregnant. She told him that the babies were yours and he got mad," Neal said carelessly while stopping the flow of Joren's steadily bleeding nose. "I am stopping the bleeding, but you can keep the black eye and the bruised nose."  
  
Joren nodded. "Fair enough I guess." He turned to Kel who was watching them silently. "Where were you going in such a hurry?"  
  
"That's none of your business," Kel replied haughtily. She was short tempered because of Cleon. He didn't have his facts straight and he was going around punching innocent people. 'Woah! When did Joren become innocent people?' Kel asked herself. She shook off the odd feeling.  
  
Neal gave Kel a look. "Don't you think you should tell Joren? I mean he is the father."  
  
Kel pursed her lips. "When did you start taking Joren's side over mine, Neal?"  
  
Neal sighed. "If I found out my child was part of a prophecy then the mother found out that either the prophecy was wrong or it was misinterpreted then I would want to know. Hey! Maybe it's part of a different prophecy!" Neal, being the scholar he was, started thinking about the many different prophecies that he had come across.  
  
"Someone tell me what's going on!" Joren yelled.  
  
"Okay," Kel said, "I'll tell you on the way to Alanna's room." She walked towards Alanna's room and Joren fell in step beside her. Kel told him that there was more than one baby and that the prophecy only told of one.  
  
They arrived at Alanna's room just as Neal caught up with them. He was left behind because he was lost in thought about the prophecy. Kel knocked on Alanna's door and after the second knock, it swung open to reveal Alanna looking disheveled.  
  
"Hello Keladry, Joren, Nealan," she acknowledged each person. "What can I do for you?"  
  
"Can we talk inside?" Kel asked. Alanna held up her finger and disappeared for a few seconds. There was a lot of shuffling and hushed voices inside. Alanna reappeared and beckoned them inside.  
  
George was sitting on the bed drinking tea when they came in. His hazel eyes twinkled when he saw Joren. "Did you upset her already? Tsk tsk. You should take our advise. We know what we are talking about."  
  
Joren glared coldly at George. He was startled when he heard a young female voice. "Da? Why is he glaring at you like that?" Joren looked around and sitting on the bed were two children of about twelve. They were twins, and they looked exactly alike except for their hair length. Their eyes were hazel and they were shining with mischief.  
  
George laughed at Joren's surprised look. "Where are my manners? Allow me to introduce our youngest of three. The boy is Alan and the girl is Alianne. Don't be fooled by their innocent looks."  
  
The girl crawled off of the bed and went to stand in front of Joren. "Hello. I'm Aly." She looked at him with her big hazel eyes and his face instantly softened. Everyone watched on amusedly as Aly kept a conversation going with Joren while she picked his pockets. He didn't even notice!  
  
Kel watched him as he talked with Aly. 'Is this what he's going to be like with our children?' By now, Alan had joined Aly and they were both keeping up the conversation while picking his pockets. They put back some of the stuff, but they also put some of it in their pockets. 'If we have a girl, she's going to have him wrapped around her little finger.' Kel was thinking about all of this until Alanna finally said something.  
  
Kel looked at Alanna. "Pardon?"  
  
Alanna smiled. "I'm sure you didn't come here for small talk. Did you need something?"  
  
Kel nodded. "It's about the prophecy. There are two babies, are there not?" Alanna frowned and nodded. "Well, the prophecy was talking about one baby right?"  
  
Alanna bit her lip. "I think so. Unless..." She frowned. "Unless, one will stop the enemy and one will help the enemy?"  
  
Kel slipped her Yamani mask over her face. She didn't think that could possibly be it. "I think we should talk to Myles." Alanna looked at George who was listening with have an ear. He nodded his confirmation.  
  
George stood up and clapped his hands. "Children, give Joren his things back." The children emptied their pockets. As they did, Joren's eyes grew wide.  
  
"Hey! You stole from me? How did you do that? I was standing right here," Joren was trying to figure out how they managed to steal his things while he was standing there watching them.  
  
"You are easily distracted," Aly said. "You have to pay attention to people you are talking to. We could have stole all of your things including your clothes and you wouldn't have noticed. You have to pay attention."  
  
Joren took a step toward Aly and Alan. Alan scurried back behind his father, but Aly stood there stubbornly. Kel watched Joren, worried that he might hit Aly or something equally stupid. George and Alanna tensed up when Joren made a move toward Aly. Aly knew some tricks so they weren't that worried.  
  
Joren swooped down and started tickling Aly, and everyone relaxed. Aly giggled and Alan helped Aly pin Joren down on the ground and tickle him. Joren giggled. He actually giggled! Kel was surprised that Joren was so good with children. When the children finally let Joren up, he looked into everyone's faces and saw mostly surprise and amusement. Neal was turning red from trying not to laugh.  
  
"If any of you tell anyone what happened here, you will regret it," Joren said, back to his cold self now that he noticed that there were people in the room. "Swear by your Gods that you wont tell anyone or else," Joren said coldly.  
  
Alanna raised her right hand. "I swear by the Goddess that I wont tell anyone."  
  
"Us too if you will come back some time to play with us," Alan said, and Aly nodding beside him. Joren gave them a ghost of a smile and the took that as a yes and they raised their right hands.  
  
Kel raised her right hand and said, "I swear by the Goddess too," in the calm voice that only she possessed.  
  
George raised his right hand too. "I swear by Mithros that I wont say anything as long as you don't tell any one that my children can pick pockets. If you do, I will tell everyone about your little display."  
  
Joren nodded snappily. He looked at Neal expectantly. Neal looked at him defiantly. "I can't promise anything. If you hurt Kel in any way, shape, or form, I will tell everyone. If you don't, then your secret's safe with me."  
  
Joren looked around at everyone. "If you all don't tell anyone, I wont tell anything that you told me not to."  
  
There was an awkward silence until Alanna said, "Let's go see Myles. Neal, you take Aly and Alan to the mess with you to get something to eat."  
  
"Yes, milady," Neal said without protests.  
  
"Wow, no sarcastic comments or anything. He must be turning into quite the gentleman," Joren said sarcastically.  
  
Alanna sighed. Joren was back to being sarcastic and cold. Kel wasn't surprised and neither was George. A leopard doesn't change it's spots overnight.  
  
Tbc....  
  
Plz R&R 


	4. More Prophecy fun

I know I haven't updated in a while. Sry.  
  
Disclaimer-Characters owned by Tamora Pierce.  
  
What?! Ch 4  
  
They arrived at the king's study and Alanna knocked loudly. When Jon answered the door with a frown, Alanna smiled at him. "Hello Jon. We need to see the prophecy." When Jon just looked at her, she added, "Please?" He sighed and let them into the study.  
  
Jon silently handed the book to Alanna and pointed out the marked page. Alanna opened it and scanned over it. "What's this at the bottom?" she asked him pointing to a part that was written in a different language.  
  
Jon looked at it and shrugged. "It looks like it's not translated into a language we know. Why?" he asked at Alanna's triumphant grin. Jon glanced at Kel and Joren who were standing by the door looking awkward.  
  
Alanna looked up at him. "Kel is pregnant with twins," she replied absently. Jon glanced over at Kel, but she avoided his gaze. "Do you think Myles can translate the rest of the prophecy?" Alanna asked, not noticing how shocked her friend was.  
  
Jon shook his head to clear it. "I think he went home." At Alanna's inquiring look, he quickly amended. "Not to Olau. You know, his home here in Corus with Eleni?" Alanna nodded and turned to George.  
  
"Could you go get him? Or—"she turned to King Jonathan, "we could go there?" Jon shrugged and nodded. "Should we bring the twins? They're probably torturing Neal right now," Alanna said, grinning at that thought.  
  
"No," George said with a wicked smile. Alanna raised her eyebrows. "I think we should give Neal the day off and let the parents to be watch the twins," George said with a wolfish grin.  
  
Alanna and Jon laughed at that. Alanna, still chuckling, went over to where Kel and Joren were. "We're going to Myles's. By we, I mean George, Jon-King Jonathan to you-and I. You two are going to watch the twins no questions asked. They are probably still down in the mess. You are dismissed." Alanna left they two squires, leaving them no choice but to obey.  
  
Joren waked out first with Kel not far behind. He let her fall in step beside him before saying something. "What do you think the rest of the prophecy is about?" he asked looking at her to see if he could guess her feelings. Her mask was firmly in place.  
  
"M' not sure. I hope it isn't what Alanna suggested though," she replied carefully. Joren shot her a questioning look. Kel sighed. "She thought that maybe one of the babies would help us and the other would help the enemy." Joren stopped and stared at Kel, shocked.  
  
He quickly shook himself out of it. His eyes were colder than ever. "Our babies will not be the end of all things. I don't care what some stupid words on a piece of paper say. They will save us not end us," he said with a pride that only a father could possess.  
  
They arrived at the mess just as Aly and Alan ran out. Aly ran behind Joren as Alan ran behind Kel. Neal came running out of the mess with milk in his hair. Joren looking at him with cool amusement through his bruised face, said, "Who's making a fashion statement now, Queenscove?"  
  
Aly, gaining confidence now that there was an ally there, stepped out from behind Joren. Alan followed his twin's lead. Aly looked at her fingernails. "I still maintain that you did it yourself," she said mildly.  
  
Neal was turning a very interesting shade of red. Kel took pity on him. "We have come to take over watching Trouble One and Trouble Two. Go see Yuki or something," Kel said kindly.  
  
"Good luck," Neal muttered darkly as he stalked away. Kel back around in time to see the twins tackle Joren. He was trying to stay on his feet, but he soon ended up on his butt.  
  
Kel cleared her throat. "What do you wanna do?" she asked the twins. After seeing their wicked grins, she rushed to change her question. "I mean do you want to go outside?" Aly and Alan shook their head. She gave a weak smile and said, "How 'bout we go to my room?" Aly looked at Alan and shrugged. Alan looked back at Kel and nodded his consent.  
  
Kel led the way to her room with the twins and Joren trailing behind. When they arrived, Cleon was standing in front of Kel's door. He looked like he was about to say something, but he stopped when he saw Aly, Alan, and Joren. Kel's mask slipped over her face. "Did you need something Cleon?" she asked emotionlessly.  
  
Aly looked up at Kel, noticing the emotionless mask on her face. Aly looked back at Cleon, figuring that he was the reason that all emotion cleared from Kel's face. Aly looked over at Alan, mentally willing him to see what she saw—he did. They looked at each other and nodded. Aly walked out from behind Kel, Alan at her side.  
  
"What's your name?" Aly asked, puppy eyes on full force. Cleon looked down at her, not noticing Alan slipping things out of his pockets.  
  
"Uhh, I just wanted to talk to Kel," he said, starting to get uncomfortable by the twelve year old's adoring look. She blinked up at him innocently, and he relented. "My name is Cleon of Kennan," he said carefully, "What's your name?"  
  
Aly grinned like a Cheshire cat. Alan made himself known by slipping back into place at rapid speed. "My name's Aly, and this is my twin, Alan," she said, her eye lashes fluttering flirtatiously. Cleon shuffled his feet uncomfortably, trying to get Kel's attention so she would save him.  
  
Joren was turning red from laughing so hard. Kel was amused, but she took pity on him. "Children, maybe Joren should take you inside," she said, pulling out the key to her room. She opened the door and motioned for Joren to take the children inside.  
  
Joren sent her a glare for ruining his fun. "I hope my children are as fun as you two," Joren told the twins as they went inside Kel's room. He said it just loud enough for Cleon to hear. Cleon turned red with anger. Kel shut the door before he could say anything back to Joren.  
  
Kel put her mask back on before turning back to Cleon. "You said you needed to talk?" she asked. Cleon nodded and gave her a hurt but cold glare.  
  
"I figured that I was jumping to conclusions this morning so I thought maybe you could explain why you were pregnant with Joren of Stone Mountain's baby. I was thinking that maybe he forced himself on you. Then I came here and you were playing the happy family with the Lioness's children. You were looking cozy so that option is out. The only other option is that it was a mutual thing," Cleon said, working himself into a fury.  
  
Kel listened silently as Cleon insulted her virtue. She took each blow silently. When she was done, she didn't bother to correct her on anything. "It's my business Cleon, not yours. You are still betrothed, right?" At Cleon's nod, she nodded too. "I'm pregnant, and I don't think that our relationship would work out with me being pregnant and you being betrothed," she said, effectively keeping all emotion out of her voice.  
  
Cleon shook his head angrily. "Why did you do it? That's all I want to know. Sleeping with your worst enemy? Never a good thing. Getting pregnant by your worst enemy? An all time low."  
  
Kel pursed her lips and nodded. "Your right about everything except for one." Without explaining what she meant, she went into her room and shut the door in Cleon's face. She was met by a strange sight when she came in. Aly was playing with Joren's hair and Joren was talking to her. Alan was exploring Kel's room with a thoroughness that Kel wouldn't expect from a small boy.  
  
"That was priceless!" Joren was saying. "The look on his face when you were giving him that adoring look—you don't really like him do you?" he asked nonchalantly.  
  
Aly's nose wrinkled up. "Not really. It was funny though," she said, tying Joren's hair back once more. Joren spotted Kel and tried to put on his "cool" façade, but the was effent was ruined when Aly gave a firm tug on his pony tail.  
  
Aly laughed as she was tickle attacked by Joren. Alan ran over to help his sister out. Kel walked over and sat at the edge of her bed. When she felt hands start to tickle her, she tensed and said in a low voice, "I'm not ticklish." The hands stopped and Kel muffled a sigh of relief.  
  
The hands belonged to Joren and he decided to have some fun. He mouthed for the twins to stop and he gave her side an experimental poke. Kel turned around in time to see Aly tickle Alan and Joren tickle Aly. She turned back around and Joren reached over and tickled her a little bit. She squirmed a little, but refrained from making a sound.  
  
Kel turned back around, but they were acting normal. She decided to get up and away from them. Joren noticed her getting up and motioned for the twins to stop. He mouthed his plan quickly because Kel was getting up—they were all going to tickle Kel.  
  
Joren grabbed Kel's waist and tickled while Trouble One and Trouble Two started tickling her sides. Joren joined in on the tickling. Soon, they were in a huge tickle fight. They were so absorbed in the tickling that they didn't hear the knock on the door.  
  
An unsuspecting Yuki walked into the room to see Kel straddling Joren, holding his hands above his head while two children attacked his sides with their fingers. Yuki cleared her throat, causing everyone to freeze. Kel scrambled off of Joren, and sighed with relief when she saw that it was only Yuki. Yuki smirked at her. Neal told me to tell you to hand over the twins to me and go to the conference room."  
  
Kel nodded and straightened her clothes. Aly and Alan, the perfect picture of mischief, followed Yuki out the door. Kel and Joren looked at each other awkwardly. "This never leaves the room," they said simultaneously. They both sighed in relief.  
  
They arrived at the conference room five minutes later. Everyone that was there the previous day was also there now. Kel and Joren silently sat down in the chairs indicated to them. They were nervous.  
  
Myles stood up. "We have good news!" he said joyfully. 'I have translated the rest of the prophecy." He picked up the book and started reading.  
  
Along with Survival comes Hope.  
  
Hope will be necessary to stop the apocalypse.  
  
If you don't have Hope, Survival will be lost.  
  
Myles looked up from his book and closed it. Joren frowned. "Why is it so vague?" he asked.  
  
King Jonathan raised his eyebrows. "Is this the only prophecy you have ever heard?" Joren nodded. King Jonathan looked at the ceiling. "I thought so. All prophecies are vague. The pieces will fall into place as the babies get older I suspect." Myles nodded his head in confirmation.  
  
Everyone sat in silence until King Jonathan stood up. "I'm sure you have plenty to do today. You are dismissed." Kel and Joren stood up and bowed. They also left the room together.  
  
Kel started to head to the practice courts. Joren's hand on her arm stopped her. "What are you doing?" Joren asked calmly.  
  
Kel looked at him for a second. "I am going to the practice courts to practice," she said slowly, as if talking to a child. Joren shook his head.  
  
"No you're not. You could hurt the babies or yourself," Joren said, concerned despite his inner protests.  
  
"Are you worried about me?" Kel asked, surprised but not letting it show.  
  
Joren scowled and looked at her with his piercing blue eyes. "No, but you are pregnant with my children. I prefer for the to actually be born," he said coldly.  
  
Kel nodded, mask still in place. "Okay then. I'm going to my room to take a nap," she said pulling her arm out of his grasp.  
  
Joren watched her go before going to his own room and taking his own nap. They slept peacefully, not knowing that their dreams—dreams of two girls—were exactly the same.  
  
Tbc...Like? Hate? Plz R&R!! 


	5. Ugh! Hormones!

What!? Ch 5  
  
1 month later...  
  
Kel was starting to show. Her tunics were starting to get tight around the chest and belly. Her breeches were getting tight in the waist. Lalasa was steadily making new outfits to fit Kel.  
  
Joren was also being oddly kind. He was still his cold self when other people were around, but when they were alone or with Alanna's children, his kind side showed. It was a little unnerving, but Kel was becoming familiarized with his multiple personalities.  
  
Right now, she was in her room eating chocolate cake. Joren was sitting there with Aly and Alan watching her in awe. About half way through the cake, she noticed their looks. "What?" she asked self-consciously.  
  
They quickly looked away. "Nothing," Joren replied. Kel's mask immediately slid over her features. She felt like crying and screaming all at once. Joren sighed when he saw the impassive mask. "Look Kel, we were just surprised at how fast you ate the cake, that's all," he said. He had started using her real name after being threatened by Raoul.  
  
Kel nodded at him. "Excuse me," she said in a choked voice. She walked calmly out of the room. When she got outside, she walked calmly to the privy. There, she started sobbing.  
  
Joren pursed his lips and looked over at Alan "What'd I say?" he asked, perplexed. Alan shrugged and got back to looking through Kel's clothes. He had made a habit of doing that every since Joren and Kel started watching him and Aly when his parents were busy.  
  
Aly let out a sigh. "I think she thinks that you think she's getting fat," she said matter-of- factly.  
  
Joren stared at Aly, trying to make sense of what she said. Aly sighed again. "You said that you were surprised at how fast she ate the cake. If someone said that to me, I would think that they were calling me fat."  
  
Joren cursed himself and stood up. "C'mon you two. We need to find Kel before she either hires someone to kill me or tells someone about it and they just decide to kill me."  
  
Aly nodded and started out the door, but Alan started complaining. "Why cant I stay here?" he asked, a whine entering his voice.  
  
Joren sighed impatiently. "Because your parents are connected with people that could kill me and get away with it if any harm comes to you," he replied wittingly, his patience running out.  
  
Alan glared at him and stomped up beside Aly, a scowl on his face. Joren ignored Alan's mutters as they walked down the corridor. They came to Neal's door and Joren knocked hesitantly. Neal answered. "Is Kel in here?" he asked carefully.  
  
Neal looked at Joren suspiciously. "No. Why?" he asked as Joren's shoulders dropped. When Joren made no move to answer, he looked down at the twins. He didn't bother to say anything to Alan because he looked moody. He looked at Aly. "What's going on?"  
  
Aly smiled slyly. "Joren called Kel fat," she replied sketchily. Joren looked down at the girl furiously.  
  
Neal's eyes widened. "YOU DID WHAT?!" he screamed. Joren looked up and mumbled darkly and incoherently.  
  
Joren looked back at Neal. "I did no such thing. I simply told her I was surprised at how fast she ate her cake, that's all," he said coolly.  
  
Nealy snorted and buried his face in his hands. "Whatever. You can deal with her yourself," he said, slamming the door in Joren's face.  
  
Joren sighed and glared down at Aly. "Why did you tell him that?!" he asked, turning an interesting shade of red. "I did not call Kel fat! I made an observation."  
  
Aly rolled her eyes. "In her mind, you called her fat. Let's check the privys," she said casually.  
  
They walked to the nearest privy in silence. Aly was watching Joren out of the corner of her head. He was turning all different shades of red, then purple, then when he calmed down some-pink. When they arrived at the privy, Joren looked at Aly expectantly. Aly noticed his look and looked at him innocently. "What?" she asked.  
  
Joren groaned. "Please go in there and see if she's there," he ground out. He was clenching his jaw.  
  
Aly raised her eyebrows at him. "Oh! You expect me to go in there? You were the one to upset her, you are going to have to be the one to un-upset her," she said mildly.  
  
Joren looked down at her and gritted his teeth. "Alianne, it is a women's privy. I can't go in there," he said, trying not to yell at her. He used her actual name to emphasize how serious he was.  
  
It didn't work.  
  
"I guess we can go back to Kel's room and wait for her," Aly said, glancing meaningfully at the door to the privy.  
  
Joren sighed and went inside. He hoped to find Kel, but he didn't expect to find her on the floor, her knees to her chest, sobbing heart-racking sobs. On instinct, Joren sat down beside her and put his arms around her.  
  
Kel flinched at the contact. She looked over to see a guilt ridden Joren looking at her with a worried expression. She wiped furiously at her tears. She hated that Joren saw her at her moment of weakness. Then she realized something.  
  
"Joren! Why are you in a women's privy?" she asked, horrified that he actually came in there.  
  
Joren shrugged indifferently. "I came in here to powder my nose," he replied sardonically.  
  
Kel looked at him and chuckled softly through her tears. She tried to compose herself, but the need to laugh was overwhelming. She started laughing and couldn't seem to stop. She laughed until tears were streaming down her face. When she managed to stop, she saw Joren giving her a reproachful look.  
  
Kel stood up and wiped her face. She looked at Joren and her Yamani mask slid over her face. "Do I look like I've been crying for the last half hour?" she asked calmly.  
  
Joren heaved himself off of the floor and stood in front of her. He traced to tear tracks on her face. They were so close that he could see her long lashes and dreamy hazel eyes up close. He don't know why he did it, but he leaned down and kissed her.  
  
Tbc...Oooo! Cliffhanger. I'll update soon so you can know what's happening! Plz R&R!! 


	6. Shocked yet again

A/N Sorry about my well played evilness. I hope that after this chapter you will forgive me for the cliffhanger. It was a good cliffhanger though. I'm sorry though, but your reactions were pretty funny.  
  
What?! Ch 6  
  
Kel gasped at the intense charge that shot through her when Joren's lips touched hers. She didn't react for several seconds, but Joren was patient. He received the shock of a life time when Kel slowly but surly started kissing him back.  
  
They were brought out of their kiss-induced haze by a small giggle. Kel quickly stepped away from Joren with wide eyes, not even bothering to put on her impassive mask. She turned and saw Aly and Alan standing there smirking.  
  
Behind Kel, Joren glared at the two children. Aly smiled sweetly. "We were wondering where you went. You were taking so long. We thought maybe you got lost. Now, we see that we were wrong," she kept saying we—talking for her brother. Joren sincerely hoped that his children would speak for themselves.  
  
Alan shot Joren a wicked grin. "Carry on with what you were doing. We'll wait outside and keep watch. Don't want to give you a bad name, now do we?" he said, backing out of the privy with Aly following.  
  
When they were outside, Kel turned to Joren. He groaned inwardly when he saw that blasted mask covering her emotions. He was confused, but he wanted to talk to Kel—not the Lump. "Kel, we need to talk. I will be at your room later tonight," he said, rushing out of the bathroom.  
  
Kel bit her lip wearily when he was gone. She knew it was a fluke. Fresh tears came to her eyes, but she pushed them back. 'You're the Lump to him. It doesn't matter how nice he's been. He's only doing that because you are carrying his children. It was just impulse or something. I don't like Joren and he doesn't like me. No man-no matter now beautiful-is worth crying over. Did I just think of Joren as beautiful?' Kel shook her head, trying to clear her thoughts. "I'm going insane," she muttered to herself.  
  
When she came out of the privy, she was surprised to see Aly setting on the floor looking awfully bored. Kel looked around for Alan or Joren, but saw neither. "Aly, where is Joren and your brother?" Aly looked up at the sound of Kel's voice. Her eyes instantly lit up.  
  
Aly jumped up and came to stand beside Kel. "Joren said that you probably don't want both of us so he took Alan." She made a face. "He gave us a choice, and I wanted to stay to hear what was going on!" She looked at Kel eagerly.  
  
Kel sighed inwardly, her mask automatically sliding over her face. She beckoned for Aly to follow her to her room. When they got there, Alanna was waiting by her door with a worried look on her face. When she saw Aly and Kel, most of the tension flowed out of her face. Then she blinked, looking behind and around Kel. Her eyes widened.  
  
Kel realized that Alanna was worrying about Aly and Alan. She hurried to ease Alanna's fears. "Alan's with Joren. I think they went to Joren's room," she said, watching as Alanna slowly relaxed.  
  
Alanna bit her lip, worried how Kel was going to react when she talked to her. "Keladry, can we talk inside?" she asked softly.  
  
Kel saw how weary Alanna looked and quickly opened the door and let Alanna and Aly inside. Aly was unusually quiet. Her wide hazel eyes were misty. She knew that her ma was about to go away.  
  
Alanna sat on Kel's bed as Aly sat beside her. Kel sat in her desk chair facing Alanna and Aly. "Kel, you're not going to like what I'm about to say. Before you say anything, hear me out," Alanna said, giving Kel a stern look. Kel nodded in acknowledgement. Alanna took a deep breath. "On the Scanra boarder, the attacks are getting out of control. They need reinforcements. The Own is riding out tomorrow and I'm going with them."  
  
"What?! I'm Lord Raoul-the commander of the Own's squire!" Kel said indignantly. Alanna nodded her head.  
  
"I know, but due to your pregnancy, you are to stay here. Joren is also staying here. George needs to go do something and I'm going with the Own. Since you need pratice taking care of children and everything, George and I was wondering if you would watch Aly and Alan while we're gone. If you have any problems, you can go to Eleni in the city or—"Kel cut Alanna off, her Yamani mask firmly in place.  
  
"We'll do it. It will be okay," she replied, eerily calm. She looked Alanna square in the eyes where Alanna could see the raw emotion. "Am I still going to be able to get my shield?" Kel asked calmly.  
  
Alanna nodded soundlessly. "You can do your tasks around the castle—run errands and work out in the practice courts. You can still work out, just don't wrestle or do anything that will hurt you physically," Alanna said, switching from sympathetic woman to healer.  
  
Kel gave her a tight smile. "I won't do anything that will hurt the babies or me," she reassured the short knight.  
  
There was a knock on the door and Kel went and opened it. There, stood Joren, Alan, and George. George stepped in first and looked at Alanna. "Did you already tell her, lass?" George asked Alanna. Alanna nodded. "Right. I also told Joren," George replied, walking over to his wife.  
  
Joren stepped into the room with Alan. Alan looked so crestfallen. He walked over and sat beside Aly, putting his arms around her. Joren watched them with a sympathetic look on his face. He knew what it was like when his parents weren't around much. Aly and Alan had it much better than he did, but maybe that made it that much harder to say good bye.  
  
Alanna and George looked at the two squires silently asking if they would do it. They looked at each other. Since Kel's face showed no emotion, he shot her a questioning look. She nodded. "We'll watch them and take care of them," Kel told Alanna and George quietly.  
  
Alanna and George sent Kel and Joren grateful looks. They shrugged it off simultaneously.  
  
George looked over at Alan and Aly. They were holding each other, looking so sad. George didn't let his sadness show. "C'mon lad and lass. We can spend the night together. It'll be fun," George said, trying to convince the twins. Aly reluctantly let go of her twin and stood up.  
  
Joren gave Aly a sly grin. "We'll be sure to lock the little monsters up until you get back," Joren promised Alanna and George.  
  
They were well used to those remarks coming from Joren. They usually meant 'we'll keep them safe until you get back.' They headed out the door, Aly pinching Joren for his remark on the way out. It went unnoticed by no one. No one scolded her because Joren didn't even flinch. He just grinned at her.  
  
When the Cooper family was gone, Kel and Joren stood in an uncomfortable silence. They hadn't had and uncomfortable silence like this in days.  
  
Joren let out a breath. "Listen, Kel. I'm sorry about that kiss. I-It was an impulse or-or something." Kel shrugged it off even though she felt like Joren had just socked her in the stomach.  
  
Joren had been watching Kel closely out of the corner of his eyes. The very brief flash of disappointment didn't go unnoticed. Joren's jaw almost dropped. He stopped it just in time. 'She likes me?' he thought giddily. Then he frowned. 'Since when did I care what she thought?' he asked himself crossly. That annoying little voice in the back of his mind that had been trying to make itself heard for days now, practically sang the answer. 'Since you fell in love with her!' It sang. Joren bit his lip until it bled to keep from shouting out loud at himself.  
  
He looked around in desperation. Kel was looking at him oddly. Joren started to feel a little bit dizzy so he sank down on Kel's bed. Kel walked calmly over to Joren, not letting him know that she was worried. She fetched some water that she had set out for Aly and Alan and gave him a glass.  
  
Joren gulped down the water as fast as he could. Through his thoughts, he heard Kel talking to herself. "I thought I was supposed to that kind of thing seeing as how I'm the one that's with child," she muttered under her breath. Somehow, Joren heard it clearly.  
  
Suddenly, Joren stood up. Kel covered up her alarm by putting his glass away. Joren cleared his throat causing Kel to glance at him. "I'm going to get something to eat because it's almost time to eat. Do you want anything?" he asked, trying not to let her know how much he wanted to be alone at the moment. Kel caught on though.  
  
"No. Go ahead. I'll get something to eat later," she replied as she watched him back toward the door. He nodded and quickly left.  
  
Not two minutes later a knock sounded on her door. She got up to answer it and was met with a shock. "Mother? Father?" she asked, shocked beyond words.  
  
Tbc...another cliffhanger. I'm sorry for my evil cliffhangers, but it makes you want to come back and read it right? 


	7. Ouch!

A/N I am so sorry that I haven't updated in, like, forever. I'm also sorry about the cliffhangers. I'll try not to do it again. I need a beta!!!

What?! Ch 7

Kel was shocked to see her parents standing outside her door. They were wearing their 'Yamani masks' so she was guessing that they had found out about her being pregnant.

Kel opened the door wider to allow them access. When the door was firmly closed, Kel looked at her parents. Her mother was tight lipped and her father stood there, staring at her silently.

Piers was the one to break the silence. "We are very disappointed in you, Keladry," he said, silently scrutinizing her.

Kel looked at her parents. "How did you find out?" she asked wearily.

Ilane looked at her sharply. "So it's true? I thought for sure that there was a misunderstanding," she said calmly.

Kel sighed wearily. "It's not a misunderstanding, but it's not what you think either," she told her parents.

"Who is the father?" Piers asked tiredly.

"Joren of Stone Mountain," Kel replied.

"Isn't he the boy that has been giving you problems since you started here?" Ilane asked, masking her confusion.

"Yes. He has changed though," Kel said seriously.

Piers took this the wrong way. "Are you planning on getting married then?" he asked.

Kel was shocked beyond all reason. "What?" she asked.

"So you're going to have the baby out of wedlock?" Piers asked.

Kel nodded. "Yes, but you need to hear me out before you decide to disown me," she said quietly.

Letting her emotions shine through for the first time, Ilane frowned. "Disown you? No, we wouldn't do that," she said, looking at her husband.

Piers nodded his head in agreement. "We wouldn't disown you. We are just disappointed," he said.

Kel nodded her head. "Okay. Could you sit down and hear me out?" she asked politely, her hurt well concealed.

Ilane and Piers sat down on Kel's bed. "Okay, about a month ago, I started getting sick—that was the morning sickness. The Lioness found out that I was pregnant. The only problem with this was that I was a virgin. She was sure of herself so she went to the king and they put together a little meeting. There was a prophecy. Apparently, the babies-there's twins-are destined to save us or something. The prophecy was extremely vague. Well, and that's about it," she said, daring to look at her parents.

Piers looked at his youngest child. "I'm sorry, I didn't know. I want to see the prophecy," he said.

Kel nodded and looked at her mother. "Well, this certainly is interesting. Are you still going to be able to get your shield?" she asked her daughter.

Kel's mood brightened considerably. Just as she was about to answer, there was a knock on the door. She smiled apologetically at her parents before moving to the door. Kel opened the door to see Joren standing there with a plate of food. "I know you said that you would be eating later, but you are eating for three," he said by way of explanation.

Kel's eyes widened slightly. "This is really not a good time," she said. Joren nodded and handed her the plate.

"Okay, I just wanted to make sure that you ate. I guess I'll go back to my room," he said, not letting it show that he was disappointed that she didn't invite him in.

Before Kel could say anything, her parents were there, inviting Joren in. She just stepped back and let her face go blank. Joren gave her a disturbed look and she let her mask slip a little, giving him an apologetic smile.

When the door was closed, Piers gave Joren a tight-lipped smile. "Please sit down. You too, Keladry." Not the type of people to disobey, Kel and Joren sat down.

Piers cleared his throat. "Have you thought about marriage?"

"Father," Kel said calmly at the same time Joren said a very quiet, "Yes."

Kel blinked and looked at him. He avoided her gaze. Piers looked at Ilane. She cocked her head to the side, gesturing for them to leave Kel and Joren alone. Piers nodded and glanced back at Kel and Joren.

Kel was sitting there, calmly staring at Joren while Joren was doing his best to avoid making eye contact.

Piers cleared his throat. "Me and Ilane are going to talk to the king," he said, slipping out the door after Ilane.

Joren was the one to break the awkward silence. "Kel, it was just a thought. I don't know if you want to or anything. I was just thinking that everyone will think worse of you if you had the babies out of wedlock. Please understand," he said, successfully keeping the pleading tone out of his voice.

Kel was staring silently at the wall. She could feel Joren staring at her and it was all she could do not to start squirming. She finally stopped having a staring contest with the wall and peaked over at Joren. He was successful in keeping the pleading out of his voice, but it shone clearly in his eyes.

Kel nodded slightly. "I understand. I know you're probably right, but if we announced our engagement, people will get suspicious. We were enemies for years," Kel said.

"You're going to start showing soon. More than you already are that is. Maybe if we start acting lovey-dovey at first and then announce our engagement a little later then people wont get too suspicious," Joren said thoughtfully.

Kel nodded. "Okay. Some people already know I'm pregnant though. The only person that doesn't know _why_ I'm pregnant is Cleon. He might tell people."

Joren rolled his eyes. "He's a big oaf. I don't think he'll tell anyone."

Kel looked at him curiously. "How can you be so sure?"

Joren chuckled. "He loved you. Maybe he still does. The only reason that he was so mad before was because he was hurt. He thought you cheated on him. I don't think he'll tell anyone because it could hurt you."

"You weren't here when I first told him about it," Kel said quietly.

Joren was concerned despite his brain sending warning signals. "What happened?" he asked.

Kel looked at him sharply to see if he was mocking her, but he seamed genuinely concerned. Her mask in place, she told Joren everything that happened.

Joren was shocked that Cleon could say those things. Sure, he had said them, but he was never her boyfriend or friend or whatever. "I'm sorry," he said.

Kel looked at him, knowing that he was talking about more than just Cleon. He was talking about the reputation that he had pushed on her—the whore or slut of Mindelan. Kel nodded. "There's nothing to be sorry about," she said.

"Mindelan, don't be dense. Of course there is," Joren said, mentally shaking her head at Kel's antics.

"Maybe, but it doesn't matter," Kel said indifferently. Frustrated, Joren grabbed her hands, ignoring the intense shock that went through him.

"I called you a slut all this time. I gave you a lead weighted lance for Mithros's sake! Of course it matters—"

Kel cut him off. "No, it doesn't," she said stubbornly. "It's in the past. I'm having your children. Just drop it."

Joren shook his head. "I can't drop it," he said fiercely.

"Why?" Kel demanded. "Why does it bother you so much? I can let it go, but you can't? What in the Goddess's name is wrong with you? You used to revel in my misery. What changed?" Kel asked, finishing with a barely audible voice.

Something inside of Joren snapped. "This," he said and leaned over and kissed her. Kel sat stock-still while Joren tried to coax her into joining the kiss. It didn't take long until Joren ran his tongue across Kel's lips, asking permission to deepen the kiss. Kel granted access.

Of course, the inevitable happened...there was a knock on the door.

Joren pulled back with a sigh. Kel was trying to compose herself, but she was doing very poorly. Joren got up and opened the door.

Cleon was standing there with a bouquet of flowers. He started to speak when he realized that it was Joren standing in Kel's doorway looking rumpled, with his lips slightly bruised.

Cleon saw red.

He attacked Joren. He was screaming incoherent words and hitting and kicking. Joren was surprised to say the least.

Cleon was soon off of Joren and pinned to the wall by a very pissed Kel. Cleon wasn't thinking clearly and swept her feet out from under her, making her fall onto her back.

When he realized what he had done, Cleon dropped to his knees and tried to touch Kel, but Joren snatched her up from the floor. "If you value your life, you'll leave while I have my hands full," Joren said in a soft, deadly voice.

Cleon scrambled to his feet and ran.

Joren too ran. He ran straight to Alanna's room. He kicked the door, praying to the Goddess that they weren't out.

Aly answered the door. Her eyes widened when she saw Kel and Joren. She quickly let them in.

Alanna and George were reclining on the bed with Alan snooping around the room, but Alanna and George jumped up when they saw Joren.

"What happened?" Alanna asked as she motioned for Joren to deposit Kel onto the bed. Joren did so and stood back, all the while telling what happened.

When he was finished, Alanna was frantically checking on the babies and Kel, making sure they were all okay. She sighed with relief when Kel blinked and was coherent. They soon found that the babies were fine too.

Joren sunk into a desk chair, his knees weak with relief. Aly and Alan came to stand beside them. "It's okay," Aly whispered as both of the twins comforted him.

Joren winced when Aly hugged him. It was then that all of his wounds decided to make themselves known. His adrenaline from his scare had faded and he was exhausted and hurting. Aly walked over and tapped her mother on the shoulder.

Alanna glanced at Aly absently. "Joren's hurt," Aly said in a small voice. The words sounded strange. Joren seamed to always be strong when he was around her.

Alanna finished checking Kel and went over to Joren. She healed what she could and gave him a cream for the sore muscles.

"Okay, you two. We'll all assist you back to your rooms. You need rest," Alanna said sternly.

Kel nodded and made to stand. Joren was by her side in an instant, his arm wrapped around her waist, helping her. They were both exhausted so they used each other for support.

George looked between them, amusement dancing in his eyes. He looked down at Aly and Alan and asked a silent question. _'Are those two _together_?'_

Aly and Alan saw the question in George's eyes and nodded. He chuckled and shook his head. "So who's room first?" George asked.

Joren cleared his throat. "Actually, I wanted to stay with Kel. You know, in case she needed anything," he said.

Kel looked at him, her thanks showing through. Joren nodded.

Alanna shrugged. "Okay, but you probably need someone to chaperone," Alanna said doubtfully.

Kel looked at Alanna. "Why? I'm already having his children. It's not like we'll do anything. We're responsible enough," she said tiredly as they approached her room.

The sight that greeted them was ominous. Cleon was standing against the wall with his eyes closed. Kel's parents were on the opposite side of the hall, eyeing him warily.

The first thing Aly and Alan did was walk up to Cleon. Not to hit a man while he wasn't looking, Aly tapped him on the stomach. They both let him have a good look at them before Aly punched him in the nose and Alan kicked him in the shin.

Alanna and George didn't scold them because he deserved it even if he didn't mean to hurt Kel. Kel's parents were astonished. Kel wasn't surprised, and Joren was swelling with pride.

"What is going on here?" a voice said from behind them. Kel and Joren turned slowly around to see Neal, Yuki, Raoul, and Prince Roald. Raoul was the one to ask the question.

Cleon was rapidly backing away, his hands over his bloody nose, his limp apparent. No one stopped him.

Joren opened Kel's door and they both collapsed on the bed. Everyone else crowded themselves into the small room.

Alanna proceeded to tell everyone what Joren had told her. Afterwards, there was silence. Finally, Raoul broke the silence. "Is this true Kel?" he asked. Kel nodded, too exhausted to do much else.

Neal was outraged. "That bastard! I'll kill him!" he said menacingly. Everyone else nodded their agreement.

Ilane and Piers were worried about their daughter. So was everyone else; she looked exhausted. "Don't do anything," said a small voice. Everyone turned and looked at Kel. She had her impassive mask on. "It's okay. I wasn't hurt and neither were the babies. We'll be fine. Everyone promise me that you won't do anything," she said flatly.

Everyone nodded-minus the twins. The vowed to get him back.

Joren cleared his throat. "I'm tired. Kel's tired. We are all tired. So could leave?" he asked, not caring what people thought because he was so tired.

Ten minutes later, they were finally alone. Kel's bed was big enough that they could lie down and sleep without touching. They did. As soon as their heads hit the pillows, they were out like a light. During the night, they unconsciously rolled toward each other. That's how they slept for the remainder of the night.

Tbc.... I'll try to update more often. I'm not making any promises though.


	8. Chapter 8

A/N Sorry it's been so long since I've updated! (Really really really really sorry.)

**Chapter 8: Problems and Solutions**

When Kel came to, she felt strong arms wrapped around her midsection. Her first reaction was to strike him, but she soon figured out that it was Joren. Instead, she tried to ease herself out of his arms. They tightened, pulling Kel flush against Joren. "Stop moving," Joren said, his voice hoarse from sleep, "I'm still sleepy."

Kel struggled against his arms, but they held her captive. All of a sudden, Joren yelped and let her go. Kel turned and saw three of the sparrows attacking Joren's face and Jump dragging him off the bed by his ankles. "Stop now," Kel ordered. "He wasn't hurting me so stop."

The sparrows settled down and Jump let go of Joren. Joren sat up with a wince. Kel looked at him and felt a tugging sensation in her heart at the endearing picture he made first thing in the morning. "Sorry. They're kind of protective of me," Kel informed him, pulling out some bandages and a cloth to clean the bite on his ankle.

Joren gave her a sardonic smile. "Just kind of," he said dryly.

Kel shrugged a sheepish glint in her eyes as she sat down the things on the bed. Before she could do anything else, there was a knock on the door. Wary that it might be Cleon, Joren stopped Kel from answering and limped to the door himself. He swung the door open, ready for anything…Joren blinked. A big knight had Cleon by the collar of his shirt. "Is Kel here?" the knight asked politely.

"Inness?" Kel asked, firmly pulling the door from Joren's grasp when she saw he was about to slam it in her brother's face.

"I brought this low-life, bug-eating, Gods cursed, sack o' nothing to apologize to you. I apologize too. I didn't know he was up to any mischief especially concerning you," Inness said, his face troubled. He yanked on Cleon's collar with a growl.

"I'm really really sorry Kel," Cleon said, truly meaning it, "I wasn't thinking, but you're the one with _him_," he pointed out angrily.

"You could've been the one with her if you weren't such a pig-headed ogre's bastard," Joren said, his voice reasonable, his hard eyes anything but.

"I wasn't talking to you," Cleon snarled.

Inness nodded to his sister. "I'm truly sorry about this, Kel. We're riding out. We're going to the Scanran boarder and I'm going to work him like an ox," he said grimly.

Kel felt a twinge of pity for Cleon. "It's not your fault Inness," she assured him.

"Yeah, Inness. It's Joren of Stone Mount—mfff," Cleon couldn't talk because his lips were in a vice-like grip in a claw made purely of magic.

"Yes, Inness, it's not your fault. It's Cleon of Kennan's fault," Aly urged, "He was jealous of something that just started blooming and he's a—"

Alanna gently but firmly put a hand over Aly's mouth, knowing the next word out of her daughter's mouth would probably make her blush. "What's going on?" Alanna asked.

"We were just leaving, lady knight," Inness said, bowing properly and forcefully urging Cleon to do the same.

Cleon bowed, guilt and betrayal weighing heavily on his mind. He really wished he could pound Joren of Stone Mountain's pretty-boy face in without causing Kel physical or emotional distress. "I am truly sorry to have inflicted pain on you, Kel," Cleon said, allowing her to see his hurt and desperation.

Joren backed into the room, not liking the quick flash of guilt that flittered across Kel's face. He sat down on he bed, emotionally exhausted. It couldn't be helped though. The twins were to stay with him and Kel. How would they manage to do that? Kel's bed was enough for Kel and himself and maybe one of the twins if they were really close together. Joren wanted Kel to have a very comfortable pregnancy though. Inspiration struck him as he watched Cleon and Inness walk away. "Lady," he said. He refused to address Alanna as lady knight or Lioness.

Alanna looked at him. "Yes, _Squire_?" she asked.

Joren rolled his eyes. "Could we possibly get a bigger room…with two beds?" he asked carefully.

"Two beds as in one for me and Kel and one for you and Alan?" Aly asked innocently, "Or two beds as in one for you and Kel and one for me and Alan?"

"Does it matter?" Joren asked sharply, his eyes shooting daggers at the almost five-foot imp.

"Actually, it does," a voice said from the adjoining doorway to Raoul's room from Kel's.

Joren growled under his breath as he turned to face the dark haired, dark eyed miniature giant. "Why, milord?" Joren asked, his face bland.

"Kel is an impressionable young lady and I don't want you to take advantage of her," Raoul said.

"She's pregnant!" Joren said. "…with my children!"

"Not by choice," Alan pointed out, pulling a book off the bookshelf and flipping through it before putting it back.

"That's enough. I will not be sharing a bed with Joren," Kel said. Joren raised his eyebrows and wiggled them suggestively. Kel's mind automatically flashed to the kisses that they had shared the previous day and the fact that they _had_ shared a bed. She didn't dignify Joren's silent innuendo with a response. "Besides, it will be easier on us if we share a room."

Trusting his squire, Raoul shrugged. "Okay," he said simply.

Joren huffed. "Okay?" he asked incredulously. "That's hardly fair. I suggest it and you get suspicious, but when she says it'll be _easier_, you say _okay_?"

Aly grinned at him. "When is life ever fair?"

Joren scowled. "When you were born, life was dealt a really bad hand," he said with childish scorn.

"What about you?" Aly demanded. "Poor wittle Jorwen and his _sparkling_ reputation. He got a girl pregnant and now it's all ruined."

Alan turned around, his daily inspection complete. "Actually, he didn't get her pregnant. It was prophesized," he said smartly. A thoughtful look came over his face. "I still don't get how she got pregnant without laying with a man."

Alanna groaned and shook her head. "You are entirely too young to be talking—let alone thinking—about that."

"I was younger than he was my first time," Joren said a bit smugly.

Kel pushed down the jealousy that was rising within her. "I need to change if you will please excuse me," she said in polite dismissal. She slipped into her dressing room to wait until they left.

Taking the hint, Alanna, Aly, Alan, and Raoul left. Hearing the door shut, Kel sighed with relief and pulled her tunic over her head. She looked into the mirror and made a face. She was gaining weight. Loose tunics wouldn't be able to cover her up soon.

The door to her dressing room opened and Kel lunged for her tunic. Joren stood there and watched in amusement as Kel fumbled to cover herself up. "What's wrong? I'm the father of your children. You don't look bad without a tunic. In fact," he said, stepping closer, "why don't I help with your morning washing?"

Kel stepped back. "No thanks. I am perfectly capable of washing myself."

"I didn't say you weren't capable," Joren said, his eyes smoldering, "I said I wanted to help."

"And I said no thanks, Joren of Stone Mountain," Kel said firmly.

Joren stopped advancing with a disappointed look on his handsome face. He ran his fingers through his loose shoulder-length hair. "Alright," he said reluctantly, "I was hoping to save water and take a bath with you. I see that's out so I'll go to my own room and take a bath." He left with a knee-weakening smile.

Kel made sure he was actually gone before locking her door and taking her bath. She didn't realize she had been holding her breath until he was gone and she let it out. As she sunk into the cool bath, Kel thought about what he had said and felt like she was on fire even though her bath was cool.

Kel got out and picked a loose, white cotton tunic with comfortable black breeches. She washed her teeth and was combing her hair out when someone knocked on her door. She opened it, expecting Joren or the twins. Her mother was standing there. "Hello Mother," Kel said.

"Keladry," Ilane said, warmth in her voice if not her face.

Kel opened the door wider to allow her mother entrance. "Come in," she said politely.

"How are you, dear?" Ilane asked worriedly. "Are you okay after last night? Inness came by earlier and told me he came by with that Cleon fellow. He's leaving for the Scanran boarder."

"I know," Kel said, "He did come by. He made Cleon apologize and promised to work him like an ox. Inness seemed awfully upset."

Ilane nodded sagely. "He was. He was very upset about the way his squire treated you."

"It wasn't his fault though. I shouldn't have gotten between the two while they were fighting. Joren would've taken care of himself," Kel said.

Ilane allowed Kel to see the amusement in her eyes. "It's just like you to blame yourself. You seem sure of Joren of Stone Mountain. Cleon _is _taller than him."

"Size versus speed and strength," Kel said automatically. She winced. "I'm sorry moth—"

There was a pounding on her door. Kel went and answered it. "What's the matter?" Kel asked Joren.

Joren shrugged. "Why would anything be the matter? Can't I just come and see my girl for no reason at all?"

Kel looked thoughtful. "The reason I thought something was wrong was because you were beating on my door like something was the matter. And, no you can't just come see your girl because whoever she is, she doesn't live here."

Joren snorted and started to go inside, but Kel blocked his way. He raised his eyebrows. "What's going on? Let me in."

"I have company," Kel said.

Joren's eyes narrowed. "Who?" he asked.

Feeling a strange surge of anger, Kel glared at him. "Why is it any of your business?" she asked defiantly.

Joren leaned in close. "Because you're my girl," he whispered.

Kel inhaled sharply and tried to ignore the tingling on her face where his warm breath had been. His non-existent logic caused her anger to leave dessert her, and she opened her door all the way and allowed him access. "My mother," she said, answering his earlier question.

Joren walked in a bowed to Ilane. Ilane nodded in acknowledgement. She had been watching their exchange at the doorway and wondered if either of them were aware of the picture they created: a bickering married couple. "How are _you_ after last night, Joren?" Ilane asked.

Joren stalked over to the desk and started reorganizing the already organized papers. "I want to kill Cleon," he said lightly.

Ilane nodded. "The thought did cross my mind," she said understandingly.

Kel looked at her mother, shocked. "Mother!"

Ilane looked over at her daughter. "When you get children you'll understand."

"The children should be coming along in about eight months," Joren said.

Ilane nodded and glanced outside. "I must be going. I have to meet Lady Alanna for breakfast."

Kel kissed her mother's cheek as she left. Ilane was a bit shocked by Kel's display of emotion, but she didn't let it show of course. She kissed the top of Kel's head and left.

Kel turned to Joren, almost expecting a scathing remark. Instead, he was looking at her with the oddest look on his face. "What?" Kel asked.

"Why don't you ever leave or greet _me_ like that?" he asked.

"Like what?" Kel asked dumbly, honestly not knowing what he was talking about.

"A kiss," Joren whispered, but Kel heard it loud and clear.

Kel struggled to keep the blush that was creeping up her neck down, but she failed. "We're not together."

Puzzled, Joren sat down on the bed. "We're not? I thought we were. Those kisses weren't reserved for someone that you didn't want to kiss."

"It was an accident," Kel said. Then she inwardly winced.

As expected, Joren raised his eyebrows with a smirk. "An accident. Did you just trip and you're lips _accidentally _touched mine and you somehow couldn't pull back?"

"The second part is right," Kel muttered under her breath. She met Joren's eyes and sighed. "Sorry. I meant it was a mistake."

Joren stood up and, before Kel could comprehend what was happening, she was in his arms being kissed very thoroughly. Kel finally came out of her Joren-induced daze when they fell back on the bed, Joren half on top of her. In a strangled voice, she said, "Stop."

Joren instantly froze and guiltily pulled his hand away from where he was about to stick it up her tunic. He looked down at her, his unreadable eyes boring into her panicked ones. He pulled back so that he was sitting beside her. "Sorry. That went farther and faster than I meant it to."

"Why did you do that?" Kel said, her voice high pitched.

Joren looked over at her. "You can't kiss someone like that and then just say it was a mistake. You just can't," he said, his vehemence surprising both himself and Kel.

Kel sighed, her mask going into place. "You kissed me," she said, "I only kissed back on instinct." She was, of course, lying. She kissed back because she wanted to.

Joren nodded. "Your right about one thing. I did kiss you, but you were completely aware of everything. If you didn't want to kiss me, you would've immediately pushed me away," he said, sure of himself.

Kel sighed. "I'm very confused right now. I know I feel something, but I—you—"

"I was and am a horrible person who goes around pushing first-year pages around and trying to get the new lady page kicked out. I know! I locked your dog and your maid in Balor's Needle. I _know_!" His voice had started rising until he was yelling, but he seemed to be talking more to himself than Kel. In a calmer voice, he continued, "I know I'm unworthy of even being looked at by you, but you could at least give me a chance."

Kel was shaken by the vulnerability in his voice. "Joren…" she started. Then she sighed. "We're going to have to take this slow…"

She wasn't able to finish because he was kissing her like there was no tomorrow. "I see you two do need chaperones," a dry voice said from the doorway.

Kel tried to pull away, but Joren, having a hold of her head, eased out of the kiss _slowly_. When he pulled away, he smirked at Aly. "No. We're taking it slow," he promised.

"I can see that," she said sardonically. "We're s'posed to go to our new room. I'll lead the way." She started to lead the way, but she stopped and turned back to the duo. "I don't think you need to meet my parents and your parents with bruised lips."

Kel looked panicked. She glared at Joren, who, in his excitement, probably bit her lips more than once. Aly motioned for them to lean down which they did and she placed a cooling finger on their lips, which went back to normal size.

As they followed Aly to their new room, Joren questioned Aly about how she knew the healing spell for bruised lips. "Always be prepared," she replied, smiling wickedly.

Joren couldn't question her any further because they had reached their new room. It was three times the size as their current rooms and half the size of Joren's room at his fief. Joren sauntered in and claimed the bed by the window. He sat down on it. "This is my bed," he declared.

"I want that bed," Kel argued, "I have my sparrows and Jump."

Joren shook his head. "I got here first."

Kel frowned at him. "I didn't know you would just jump onto the bed and say it was yours. I want that bed."

Joren grinned wickedly. "I'll _wrestle_ you for it," he said.

Kel got the insinuation and blushed. "Alright you two. There are other people in the room," Aly said reprovingly.

Kel's stomach growled loudly, reminding her and everyone else that she hadn't yet eaten. "Gods, Kel!" Joren said, hopping off the bed with a worried look, "You need to eat. You're eating for three now."

"So you keep reminding her," Alan and Aly chorused, knowing it was exactly what Kel had been thinking.

Joren glared at the twins and turned back to Kel. "I'll go get you something to eat," he said. He left to do just that.

Piers turned to his daughter with an unreadable face. "Do I need to ask him his intentions?" he asked.

"I thought you did that yesterday," Kel said, her face only showing her amusement. She gingerly sat down onto the bed that Joren had vacated. "I think I'll take this bed."

"Joren already called it," Alan reminded her.

"She's pregnant," Aly whispered into her brother's ear. Alan nodded, as if that explained everything.

"Do you want me to move my things right away?" Kel asked.

Alanna shook her head, already expecting the question. "We already recruited someone to do it," she said.

As if on cue, there was a loud knock on the door. Alanna opened it and Numair was standing there, all of Kel's belongings trailing behind him in a single file line. Alanna beckoned him in, hiding her grin at Kel's surprised look.

Aly sat beside Kel on their bed. "Joren has to move his own stuff," Aly informed Kel wickedly.

"That's not fair," Kel protested. "You help me and not him."

Aly shrugged. "If it will make you feel better, me an' Alan an' Neil will help him."

Alan nodded. "He needs all the help he can get," he said intelligently.

Feeling better, Kel stood up to direct Numair on where to put her things. By the time Joren got back with food, Kel, George, and Alanna were sitting back watching Aly and Alan search the room from top to bottom, only stopping to engage in conversation with Ilane and Piers. "You stole my bed," Joren accused Kel, putting the tray of food down on her lap.

"It didn't have your name on it," Alan pointed out.

"But she did see me say that I called that bed," Joren pointed out, popping a grape in his mouth.

"Again, life is not fair, Joren of Stone Mountain," Aly said.

George knocked on the door. "Alanna, lass. It's time to go."

The joy of bantering with Joren went out of Aly and Alan's faces. Everyone went to see Alanna and George off. Aly and Alan hugged their parents and stood with Joren and Kel as they watched Alanna and Neil ride off with the King's Own and George go off on his lonesome.

Aly clapped Alan on the back and whispered in his ear. He smiled at her and turned to Kel and Joren. He grabbed Kel's hand as Aly grabbed Joren's and the put Kel and Joren's hands together, chanting under their breaths. Both Kel and Joren tried to pull away from each other and both failed. Joren cursed and glared at the two children. "Undo whatever you just did," he demanded.

Aly raised her eyebrows. "You're not my father."

"But neither one of them are here and I wont hesitate to hang you from Balor's Needle," Joren threatened.

"Do it," Aly challenged.

Joren sighed in defeat. "Kel?"

"I didn't get to eat my food. Let's go back to the room," she decided.

Aly and Alan led the way as Kel and Joren followed hand in hand. As they were sitting there, still hand in hand as Kel ate her food, Joren noticed something. "How is your things already here and mine's not?" he asked.

"Numair," Alan said as Kel hurried to swallow the food that was in her mouth.

"That is not fair," Joren whined.

"I'll help you bring your things in here," Kel said.

"No. I'll do it. You stay here and rest," Joren said.

"Me an' Alan will help you," Aly said.

"I'm not a child and you are not my mother," Kel told Joren crossly.

"You're right on both accounts, but you _are_ carrying my children," Joren reminded her.

"As if I could forget," she muttered.

"Right. Off we go as soon as you two," Joren looked at Aly and Alan, "Undo this little spell thing."

Aly smiled innocently. "Oh. We undid it when we got back to the room."

Joren and Kel pulled their hands apart easily. Joren scowled at Aly. "You did this on purpose," he growled.

Aly raised her eyebrows. "Umm…yes." She smiled easily and hooked her arm through Joren's. "Come on. Let's go get your things."

Kel watched in amusement as the three left. As soon as they were gone, she grabbed her glaive and headed to the practice courts.

When she got to the practice courts, she sighed in contentment as she started her exercises that she hadn't done in almost a month. After doing some complicated dances with her glaive, Kel went over and started doing even more complicated Shang moves. She didn't stop until she heard clapping. She looked up and immediately bowed. "Your Majesties," she murmured.

Queen Thayet grinned at her. "At ease youngling. So, is Squire Joren forbidding you to do these kinds of things? I just saw him carrying some things with the twins helping out a little."

"He is forbidding me to do things," Kel admitted. "I'm not listening to him though."

"Obviously," King Jonathan said dryly.

Queen Thayet nudged her husband. "Don't worry about Squire Joren. He's just being a worried Papa."

Kel inwardly smiled. Queen Thayet and King Jonathan looked like the epitome of happy marriage. It was inspiring really. Kel bowed. "I really must be getting back before Joren…" she trailed off as she spotted him. "Well, never mind."

"Mindelan! What do you think you're doing?" Joren demanded.

Aly looked up at him, her face showing pure mischief. "Now Joren! I do believe she was talking to the king and queen. Is that any way to act in front of them?" she scolded.

Joren checked himself. "Your Majesties, I didn't see you. I was coming to look for Kel; she wasn't in the room."

Thayet hid a smile. "I see. She just came out here to practice. That's okay as long as she doesn't do anything strenuous," she said seriously.

Joren scowled. "She could still get hurt. Then what? She'll probably hurt the babies. That is not okay," he declared.

Aly patted his shoulder. "It's okay Joren. She won't get hurt. She is pregnant after all."

"That was my point," Joren gritted out between clenched teeth.

Aly rolled her eyes. "The babies will protect her." She lunged at Kel to prove her point and was met with a solid white force field. She yelped and cursed. "See?"

Everyone was a little dumbfounded. "How did you know that, Alianne?" King Jonathan asked sternly.

Aly shrugged and looked over at Alan. Alan too shrugged. "We just knew," Alan said helpfully.

Kel put her hand to her head. "I need to go lie down or…something." She bowed and walked away, Joren and the twins not far behind her.

"Do you think they know more?" Queen Thayet asked her husband.

Jon nodded. "If I know Aly and Alan and I think I do, they know a lot more."

"Should we confront them or let them tell-all in their own time?"

Jon took his wife's hand. "We wait. I think we're going to learn a lot about the little ones in time."

Thayet had a feeling he was right. She grinned. There would be a lot of changes—changes she could already see in Joren. It would be for the best though and it sure wouldn't be boring.

Tbc…I'm sorry it's taking so long. I had writer's block and I couldn't think of anything. I'm running out of ideas! Help me?


	9. The Birth

Chapter 9-The Birth

Kel was seven-and-a-half months pregnant and so many things had happened: Joren had been officially disowned by his family and friends, Kel and Joren decided not to get married even though the poor pregnant ladt was called a slut in many different ways and forms and Buri and Raoul had gotten together. Many things _didn't_ change though. Aly and Alan dropped subtle hints about the babies, but they won't reveal what they know--not even to the people they're closest to.

"Get off of me," Aly ordered sternly, trying not to giggle. Alan ignored his twin and continued to poke her sides, making her giggle more. Then they both froze, causing Alanna to look up and George to pause in his writing.

Alan scrambled off of Aly and they both ran to the door and threw it open. Kel, in all her pregnant glory, had her hand poised to know. "Hi Kel. Hi babies," the twins chorused.

Alanna stood up. "Something wrong?" she asked worriedly.

Kel shook her head, her face completely blank. "I just," she paused, thinking of how to put her next words.

"She's mad at Foren," Alan finished for her.

Aly elbowed her twin. "She probably didn't want everyone to know that," she hissed, knowing how Kel was about private matters staying private. Not that she really had much privacy since the unexpected pregnancy... Seeing her parents' bemused looks, she shrugged. "We can tell when she's mad at Joren. I think it's the was she stands--" She stopped talking abruptly, staring at Kel's pregnant belly with wide eyes. "Uh oh. Ma, she's 'bout to have those babies."

Alan looked panicked. "What's going on! I've been blocked!"

Aly stayed calm as Kel's face barely changed but the pain in her eyes was unmistakeable. Her hands were on her belly and she was frozen in place.

"Kel, I need you to come over here and sit down," Alanna instructed gently to the shocked girl. "George."

"Get Joren, Jon, Thayet, and Neal," he finished, his eyes shining.

"I'll get Joren and Alan'll get Neal," Aly offered and waited for her father's nod before taking off at a run.

Joren was pacing and muttering to himself. "Talking to yourself is the first sign of insanity," Aly snarked playfully from the doorway.

"I suppose she went straight to the _Lioness_? If you're here to yell at me or curse me, do it. She was trying to wor kout ag--"

"She's about to have the babies," Aly said calmly, cutting off his rant. Joren's eyes got wide and he froze. "I was surprised too. And your reaction is about the same as Kel's was. C'mon."

Aly led a shell-shocked Joren to Kel. When they got there, the room was already full: King Jonathan, Queen Thayet, Neal, Ilane, Piers, Alanna, Alan, and George were all stuffed into the room around the bed where Kel lay, here face contorted in pain.

"Now that everyone's here," Alanna announced, "Get out."

"They're coming right now," Aly said loudly, causing everyone to look over at her.

"No--" Alanna said, but was cut off.

"Yes they are," Kel groaned, trying not to scream.

"Everyone out," Alanna said with a furtive glance at Kel. All the males, except Joren, beat a path out the door to go talk in one of the empty rooms close by.

Thayet smiled at Kel. "I'll let you enjoy the miracle of birth without hovering over you waiting to see the babies that are supposed to save us all. I'll hover worriedly somewhere else."

The door closing behind the queen broke through the many thoughts coursing thorugh Joren's mind. He walked toward Kel, but her glare stopped him. "I don't want him in here," she said through gritted teeth.

Ilane looked pointedly at the door. "Hormones, pain, and anger from a pregnant Kel is not good for _your_ health," she informed Joren.

Feeling horrible and like a few steps below dirt, Joren walked out and leaned agaisnt the closed door. He sat there for over an hour listening to the curses and instructions before a sharp, ear-splitting wail interupted the non-silence. Joren sat up straight and strained his ears and smirked when another cry joined in. His children sure had some strong lungs on them!

Soon after that, the door opened and Aly smirked at Joren. "Both are girls. Kel says you can come in now."

Kel was smiling softly at two wriggling bundles when Joren came in. She looked up and, instead of glaring like he expected, grinned. "They have blonde hair and blue eyes." The cautious approach seemed best--Kel was acting odd.

The tine pink babies did in fact have a little bit of blonde hair on top of each of their little heads. "So what are you going to name them?" Alanna asked.

Kel looked at Joren who shrugged slightly. "We were just starting to really get serious about discussing names," Joren admitted sheepishly.

TBC... What should the babies' names be? I'm writing again! Woohoo! Fun, fun, fun! So I'm only going to have a chapter or two with some explanations. There will definitely be a sequel for as they grow up and come into their mysterious world-saving powers.


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